Birth

The year is 2062.

"Meteor wake up."

A deep voice woke me up from my sleep.

The bright ceiling lights stung my eyes as I sat up on my makeshift paper bed. Blinking, I saw my father standing over me, his calm smile as steady as ever.

He hadn’t changed, not in all the years I could remember. His tall frame, long white hair, and neat lab coat were exactly the same. It was a bit eerie how time had never taken effect on him physically. Meanwhile I had grown into someone who barely resembled him.

I was average in height, though a bit scrawny for my age. My black hair was a direct contrast to his white locks, even my light brown skin was a few shades darker than his. He always claimed he had the same color when he was young, but I doubt his ever had the circuit board filaments that threaded the tips of my hair.

Other differences were harder to ignore, like the small Roman numeral “III” embedded into my right temple. He called it a tattoo to make it sound normal, but it was a chip slot. One of the many robotic traits I'd come to have.

By the time I was eight, I understood the truth. I was half-human, half-robot, and he was just human. I was certain of this after I painlessly took a sip of his coffee that he had sat aside because “it was too hot.” l learned that his body couldn’t tolerate extreme temperatures while I could withstand the temperature no matter what.

"Meteor, I'm glad you are awake. Come to the dining room. Today is the day." He said as he walked out of my room.

I put on my shoes in the corner of my spotless, empty room. Though it looked freshly built, I had lived there for eighteen years.

I followed him out, passing the blank living room where I’d spent most of my life. For some reason I was feeling nostalgic about it today. I paused in the center of the room.

Most of my days on this hovering couch were spent watching the news, movies, and various tv shows on our holographic tv. The bookshelves in the room were crammed with books and magazines that I had read hundreds of times.

This room was my window to the world outside that I had always dreamed of experiencing. All the time I spent in this room was my time to experience human and robot culture.

The human world I had seen through my limited lens fascinated me. It's art, wonder, and beauty. Paintings, stories, films, and music that stirred one's emotions.

The robot world was no less beautiful. Its precision, efficiency, and drive to elevate society were amazing to see.

For years, my father urged me to embrace one side, claiming both were a part of me. Yet I could never choose. How could I when both were so incredible?

I wondered again when I would get to finally see the outside I had been longing for. I left the thought and continued to the dining room.

The room felt different to me today. The blank white walls were decorated with framed pictures of cityscapes and landscapes. The floating table in the center contrasted with the grounded four-legged stools around it.

This was the third and last room I’d ever been allowed to visit, but only now did I notice how beautiful it was.

My dad sat at the table, staring off into space as if he were contemplating something. I sat across from him, and he seemed to return to reality as he smiled at me.

"Meteor, what do you think about all this?" He asked.

"All what?"

"Your 18th birthday. It's time for you to start your life."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

He chuckled a little before replying.

"Today you're finally an adult. You'll be leaving the house and joining civilization."

"Wait, I'll be going outside!?" I shot up from my chair in excitement.

"Yes," he said. "I'll release you out into civilization.”

I couldn't believe it. After eighteen years of life, I would finally get to experience the world I had fantasized all this time.

There were no windows in my room, and there was no way out of the house known to me. I only saw outside when I would watch tv, but that was not enough for me.

“Meteor-” My dad caught me spacing out.

"What's it like?" I cut him off.

"Outside? Well, it depends on what you choose."

"What do you mean?"

"Humans and robots have their own ways of life, and you have to pick which you’d like to identify with. You should know this. I didn't have you watch tv and those books all these years for nothing."

"Yeah but... I guess they never seemed that different to me.”

"Well, today is the day you are going to have to choose. I prepared special gifts to help you to make your choice."

My dad got up and left the room for a second. I was thinking about how I would be going outside, but I wasn't sure how to go about choosing a culture as I truly admired both. After a moment he came back.

"I know you know what both of these are, so I won't even bother explaining them." My father said as he sat two items down on the table in front of me.

I looked at two objects that I was fortunate enough to be familiar with.

The first object was a cake. Cakes were commonplace in human culture and were a typical birthday celebration item. This cake was white frosted and was neatly decorated with beautiful blue designs on the side. There were also 3 lit candles sticking out the top of it.

The second item was a small cartridge that fit in the palm of my hand. It was labeled "Trance Dance: Creation Day Celebration" and was meant to be inserted into my chip slot to transfer my consciousness into an emulated birthday simulation. This was the robot equivalent to a cake.

This was a creative way to choose a side, but I still couldn't pick one.

"Why can't I just experience both? Why do I have to choose one over the other?" I asked.

"Because the cultures don't mix, once you get outside you’ll see how uncooperative they are. But your half-human half-robot, you get the choice of which one you want to live in, you're one of the only people who can. So choose wisely." My dad replied.

I didn't understand. My whole life I always thought that since I was half-human and half-robot, I would be able to experience the best of both worlds. My whole life was built upon this idea.

"But why not? If I am part of both, I can survive anywhere, right?" I asked.

"No. It's impossible. You don't get it Meteor, humans and robots hate each other. They do not mix. They never have and they never will." He replied sternly.

I was shocked. My dad had never acted like that before. Up until now he had been calm as he always was. I was starting to feel the weight of this decision.

"Now choose, and choose wisely."

"Well," I looked down at the two items in front of me. The longer I stared at the items the heavier my shoulders felt. I could feel the weight of this choice.

My whole world would be decided based on the choice I make. I thought long and hard about the implications of each item and by extension, culture.

I then decided.

"I pick both. I love both sides." I said adamantly. My entire life up until this point was spent longing for both. I wasn’t going to be told I could have just one.

There was a long silence after I said that. I was standing at the table, and my dad was just staring at me.

"I had a feeling you might say that." My father sighed. After a moment, however, he started smiling again. He returned back to his calm tone.

"Well son, you've proven your old man wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I dared take the speck out of my brother's eye, while having the log in mine." He once again sighed, but he seemed content. "You can have both if you want. I'll pack them up so you can take it with you."

He blew out the candles on the cake, stood up, and left to pack it along with the cartridge. When he came back, he was holding a backpack.

"Here," he said as he gave me the bag. "I've packed food, water, and some other things that I thought would come in handy. Also be gentle, the cake is in there."

“Thanks.” I took the backpack and put it on. As I did, my dad gave me a hug.

This was a new feeling for me, I wasn't sure what to do. He had never hugged me before. I knew this was something humans did, but I had never experienced it for myself before. I instinctively hugged him back.

"Happy Birthday Meteor, I'm proud of the man you've become. But this is also goodbye." He said as he released me from the hug. “I want you to leave through here.”

My father fiddled around in his pocket. Shortly after, a door was etched into the wall by a laser.

"I really won’t see you again?" I replied.

“I’m afraid not Meteor. I’m nearing my expiration date, and this one is not avoidable.”

I felt sad. I knew that humans would die from natural causes once they got high in age, but even so I never thought it would come this soon.

"Fix the world for me, will you?" he said, smiling.

Not entirely sure what he meant, I smiled and nodded anyway. “Goodbye dad.”

I started walking away from my father and towards the door outside. My feet felt heavier with every step toward the door. I glanced back at the three rooms that had been my entire world for 18 years.

This is what I wanted, right? I told myself that over and over. The world outside was everything I’d dreamed of. It had to be.

But what if it wasn't?

I stopped and took a deep breath. If this was a test, it was too late to study. I opened the door and stepped into the unknown.